OKX Ventures has confirmed its $106 million investment to acquire a 19.6% stake in South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, marking the latest move by global crypto giants to secure a foothold in South Korea's regulated digital asset market. The deal involves strategic equity investment agreements with OKX Ventures, Korea Investment & Securities (KIS), and South Korean gaming firm Com2uS and its affiliate. Pending regulatory approval and transaction completion, both OKX Ventures and KIS will each hold a 19.6% stake in Coinone, making them the exchange's joint third-largest shareholders after CEO Cha Myung-hun, who holds 30.36%, and Com2uS Holdings and its affiliated company, which together control 24.54%. As per Coinone, the transaction combines secondary share purchases from CEO Cha and Com2uS with subscriptions to newly issued shares, with Cha expected to remain Coinone's largest shareholder and retain management control.
For OKX, the investment provides crucial access to one of Asia's most tightly regulated crypto markets, where licenses, compliance and meeting regulatory requirements remain key conditions for crypto platforms to operate. Coinone is one of the few crypto exchanges in South Korea that operates within the local regulatory framework and is among the country's notable market players, alongside Upbit, Bithumb and Korbit. After the Virtual Asset User Protection Act took effect in 2024, local exchanges came under stricter supervision, while traditional financial companies have become increasingly active in looking for entry points into the digital asset sector. As a result, licensed platforms such as Coinone are becoming not just crypto exchanges, but infrastructure through which banks, brokers and investment firms can access a regulated market. The transaction values the exchange at roughly 500-600 billion won, reshaping the ownership structure of South Korea's digital asset sector.
The Coinone deal arrives as major South Korean financial groups significantly increase cryptocurrency sector investments. On Thursday, three Samsung subsidiaries announced plans to invest approximately $408 million in Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, in exchange for a combined 4% ownership stake. Separately, Mirae Asset, which manages more than 1,000 trillion won ($665 billion) in assets, disclosed plans to acquire a 92% stake in cryptocurrency exchange Korbit in February. Several large financial institutions, including KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and NHN KCP, have entered partnerships with blockchain networks such as Solana and Avalanche to test payment infrastructure involving tokenized deposits and stablecoins. As South Korea's top-tier financial organizations continue to absorb independent digital asset venues, the dividing line between traditional equity brokerage and decentralized asset exchange has effectively ceased to exist.
According to OKX Ventures Vice President Netero Dai, South Korea represents one of the world's most sophisticated digital asset markets with a highly respected global regulatory framework. "We believe that the future of finance will be built on compliant, well-regulated infrastructure, and our investment in Coinone with Korea Investment & Securities reflects that conviction," Dai stated. KIS President Kim Sung-hwan emphasized that "The first step into entering a new blockchain-based digital finance business beyond the boundaries of traditional finance has begun. We will create strong business synergy and preempt the digital financial market by combining unique services and innovative technologies from Korea Investment & Securities, Coinone, OKX, and Com2uS." Both companies plan to share operational expertise in security, compliance, and institutional trading systems, with KIS working on stablecoin and security token businesses as South Korea develops rules for tokenized finance. The partnership also aims to connect traditional financial services with blockchain-based settlement systems, reflecting growing efforts to integrate regulated markets with crypto infrastructure.
The four companies - Coinone, Com2uS Holdings, Korea Investment & Securities, and OKX - plan to hold a joint press conference in June to explain the specific background, purpose, and expected effects of this strategic equity investment to the market and investors. KIS will not only acquire a simple stake but will actively pursue token securities (STO) and stablecoin businesses along with Coinone in line with domestic legislative trends. With the aim of building a new financial model that integrates institutional finance and virtual assets, the plan is to preoccupy differentiated competitiveness in institutional and derivatives markets by combining asset management capabilities unique to institutional financial institutions and blockchain infrastructure of virtual asset exchanges. The partnership also agreed to jointly strengthen the reliability and transaction safety of the exchange by transferring strict compliance and risk management system know-how such as internal control of Korea Investment & Securities, anti-money laundering (AML), and detection of suspicious transactions to Coinone.
